


The Great Outdoors

by Chash



Series: Charity Drive 2017 [14]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 16:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10282898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: Bellamy's life doesn't getworsewhen Octavia realizes the magic phrase to get him to come on social outings is "Clarke's coming," but it definitely gets busier.Still, it's hard to resist. He's maybe a little pathetic.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Charity fill for [somanycats](http://somanycats.tumblr.com)!

The first time Octavia used "Clarke will be there" as a tactic to get Bellamy to do something, it was simultaneously terrifying and a huge relief. On the one hand, he didn't like his little sister knowing his business, especially his romantic business, and the idea that she could see right through him was unnerving at best. He'd thought he was being at least somewhat subtle about it, but if Octavia knows, he's not doing as well as he thought. And, of course, it's _always_ terrifying when she knows things, especially things she can use against him. Things like his having a crush on one of her friends.

But, on the bright side, at least she's not pissed off that he has a thing for Clarke. Her using it against him isn't ideal, but it's a huge improvement over her telling him that he's gross or inappropriate or something.

And, granted, _using it against him_ might be a slight overstatement. All she's doing is telling him about social events that will involve Clarke, and then expecting that this knowledge will make him come to said events.

Which, unfortunately, it does.

"Yeah, wow," O says, unrepentant, when he points this out. "I'm such an asshole. I'm telling you where the girl you like is going to be so you can spend time with her. In a totally normal way. I'm ruining your life."

"As long as you're aware," he grumbles, and agrees to be at paintball.

Bellamy developed a thing for Clarke through fairly normal group activities: going to the bar, hanging out at O's, holiday gatherings and major life events and whatever else. They got off to an awkward start, Bellamy not sure how to be a part of his baby sister's social group, Clarke going through some pretty major life changes that made her irritable. For the first few months, he would have told anyone who asked that Clarke was his least favorite of his sister's friends, and that all they did was fight.

Which, honestly, was a lot more than he did with any of her other friends, but he's never claimed to be emotionally competent.

It's probably why the crush took him by surprise. Miller had been the one who spelled it out for him, when he was off on a tear about how the argument he and Clarke had had at the bar the previous night. Miller hadn't yet integrated himself into the friend group at that point, and only had Bellamy's accounts to work from, and he finally just said, "Dude, you need to stop pretending you hate this Clarke chick. It's seriously getting old."

Bellamy stopped mid-rant, one hand still in the air. "What?"

"You know every one of your stories about hanging out with your sister isn't about your sister, right? It's about how you show up, make a beeline for Clarke, and spend the entire night coming up with reasons to fight with her so you don't have to interact with anyone else."

He opened his mouth to protest, closed it again, and then finally said, "Fuck."

"I can't believe I had to tell you," Miller muttered, and wandered into the kitchen while Bellamy reassessed his life.

For about a couple weeks after that, he had no idea how to deal with Clarke, because he's _awful_ at crushes. First he avoided her, then he tried being nice to her, and then she put him out of his misery.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Basically everything," he said. "You need to narrow that down."

"You've been acting really weird. And being nice. Why are you being nice?"

He paused. "We're friends, right? Friends are nice."

Clarke paused too, and then she stole his cider and took a long drink. "We're not that kind of friends. I _like_ arguing with you. You don't have to be nice. Just be Bellamy. That's what I'm looking for."

"Bellamy isn't nice?" he asked, but he already felt so much better.

She actually thought about it, tapping her finger on his cider. "Bellamy doesn't try to be nice," she said, finally. "Just keep on doing what you're doing. We're already friends."

"Cool," he said. "Give me me drink back, asshole."

And just like that, they settled into their new (and continuing) status quo, where they hang out and tease each other and bicker about unimportant things, but he doesn't trust anyone as much as he trusts her, and he sometimes can't stop thinking about what she'd taste like if he kissed her. 

And, of course, the status quo where his sister can get him to do _anything_ , so long as she gets Clarke to agree to do it first. And Clarke, apparently, _likes_ all of Octavia's weird outings, because she's always going, which means Bellamy is always going, and pretending that he's there against his will, but for reasons that have nothing to do with Clarke.

If he's honest (which he wouldn't be,on pain of death), it's not even that bad, even leaving Clarke aside His sister's hobbies are kind of fun. _Kind of_. He doesn't want to play paintball or go rock-climbing on a regular basis, but as blips in his routine, he can basically live with them.

Hiking is the wild card.

On paper, Bellamy likes hiking. He's in-shape, enjoys being outside, and thinks parks are really cool. Every time he goes hiking, he enjoys it. But it's so _time-consuming_ , especially with O. They have drive out to wherever they're hiking, and then a few hours of actual hiking, and then the drive home. Bellamy's free time, especially over the school year, is precious, and giving up an entire day to something, even something he _likes_ , is difficult. So even when Octavia pulls the Clarke card, Bellamy tends to opt out of hikes.

So it shouldn't surprise him that his sister upgrades her tactics.

"Clarke asked if you were coming."

Bellamy pauses, glances over his shoulder at his sister. As is traditional on Thursdays, he's making her dinner, so she's just sitting at his counter, all her attention on her phone, acting innocent.

He doesn't know why she tries, at this point. They're siblings; they know all each other's tells and tricks. Right now, O is trying to look like she doesn't give a shit about anything, and she absolutely does.

"When did she ask that?" he settles on, finally.

"Just now, when I texted her about the hike. You can check if you want, weirdo."

He pauses. He's never actually _confirmed_ , to his sister, that he's into Clarke. Which is one of those things that feels important, from some kind of moral perspective, but just isn't, in any practical sense of the word. She knows. He doesn't have to say it.

"Kind of, yeah," he says. "I don't actually trust you."

She hands him the phone, and he scans the conversation:

**Octavia** : hey, hiking sat, you in??

**Clarke** : Who's going?

**Octavia** : idk   
def me, lincoln, and luna, prob miller, jasper, monty  
u can ask raven

**Clarke** : Yeah I'll check with her  
No Bellamy?

**Octavia** : tbd

"Told you," says O, singsong.

"Yeah, I'd be curious about that too," he says. "If I were her. I'm like the only person you didn't mention." He gives her the phone. "Seriously, nothing against hiking, but you know how busy I am."

"I also know tomorrow is a work day for you, which is _like_ a long weekend."

"I don't think you get how teacher work days work."

"No students and you can probably get some grading in." She pauses. "I bet if I tell Clarke you're coming, she'll agree to come too."

"I bet she was going to agree to come anyway," he says, leaning back into the fridge for salad stuff. 

"That's not a no."

"Do you come up with these plans just to matchmake me and Clarke? I feel like that's got to be a waste of your time."

"No way. I'm also working on hooking up Luna and Raven and Miller and Monty. You're not the center of the universe, Bell."

"Yeah, I feel so much better." He sighs. "If I say I'm going to come, are you going to be weird about it?"

"Nope. Just happy."

"You know I _like_ hiking, right? It's not a hardship. Where are we going?"

"We?" she asks, pouncing.

"Tell me where first."

"Up to New Hampshire."

"So you also want me to drive."

"I assume if you're going, you're driving, and you don't mind bringing some other people with you."

"Jasper's still not allowed in my car," he grumbles, and O grins.

"So, I can tell Clarke you're coming, right?"

He huffs. "Knock yourself out, sure. I _like_ hiking," he adds, futilely. "You don't need to do that much convincing."

"Uh huh. Shut up and make me dinner, okay?"

Her phone keeps buzzing throughout the meal, which is pretty normal, but she doesn't tell him the content of any of the messages, which is the _worst_. She definitely told Clarke he was coming, and he keeps waiting for her to share Clarke's response, and there's just _nothing_.

He breaks while they're doing the dishes.

"So, is Clarke going hiking?"

O smirks. "I told her she could have shotgun in your car. You're welcome."

He pauses, but she's definitely got him. "Yeah. Thanks."

*

He ends up with Clarke, Miller, and Monty in his car, which is fine. Clarke's a good navigator, and Miller and Monty are just sitting in the back playing video games, so once they're on the highway, it's kind of like it's just him and Clarke. 

"I didn't think you liked hiking," Clarke observes, after they've gotten through the requisite small-talk. "You never come."

"That's because O always picks day trips that take like ten hours," he grumbles. "I'd go if she wanted to go in the summer."

"It's _hot_ in the summer," she teases.

"That's why you go to the top of a mountain. Where it's cold."

"So, your way to deal with summer weather is climbing to the coldest place you can find?"

"Or sticking my face in the fridge, yeah."

"He's really done that," Miller adds. 

"You wanna walk home?" Bellamy shoots back.

"Dude, you can't get mad at me for saying something you already said," he says, not unreasonably.

"I can still make you walk home."

"I could steal your car, no problem. Don't tempt me."

Bellamy clears his throat, turns his attention back to Clarke. "So, you like hiking?" he asks, and she smiles, like she thinks he and Miller are cute.

He hopes she does.

"I'm working on developing an appreciation," she says. "I should like it, right? It's a good thing."

"Hiking? Like, generally?"

She shrugs. "I could use more exercise in my life."

"Walking's easier," he says. "Just walk around town."

"Isn't hiking also supposed to involve nature?"

"Nature doesn't make it healthier. But you could walk in the park or something." Miller kicks the back of his seat, so apparently Bellamy should be using this as a pickup line, somehow. "There are a couple nice ones near you," he offers. Clarke's only lived here for a year, and she's as much of a workaholic as he is, so she probably hasn't done a lot of exploring for nice places to walk. "I can let you know next time I'm going out."

"Yeah, that would be cool," she says, which is at least enough for Miller to stop kicking him.

O and the rest of them are already there when they get to the trail, and Luna insists on leading everyone through some warmup yoga before they go, which--Bellamy likes Luna, he really does, but sometimes he thinks she lives in a different universe from his, one he will never truly be able to comprehend. It's probably a nice place, but it's not _his_ place.

It's good once they get going, though. Octavia maybe has some skills as a matchmaker, because they drift into groups pretty naturally. Octavia takes the lead and Lincoln goes with her, and of course Miller is talking to Monty, because O's definitely right about Miller's crush too. They're close enough to Raven and Luna that Raven can chime in with video-game opinions while still keeping most of her focus on Luna, and it's kind of cute.

He and Clarke are bringing up the rear, because Clarke dropped to the back of the group, and he wasn't just going to leave her _alone_. And she doesn't seem to mind his company, so--Octavia's never going to shut up about it, but whatever. She wasn't shutting up about it before, so he might as well enjoy the chance to hang out with Clarke.

They drift further and further behind, until he can't hear what the others are talking about, and they're mostly out of sight when the trail curves. It's only then that Clarke says, "You know you can walk ahead of me, right? I don't mind."

"Did you want to be alone?" he offers, unsure. They were chatting; she seemed to be enjoying his company.

But her answer is quick. "No." Her mouth twists. "I'm worried if I go too fast I'll get sweaty and exhausted, so I figured I'd just pace myself. It's appreciating nature, right?"

"Definitely." He nudges her shoulder. "I like appreciating nature too."

"You still don't have to babysit me."

Her tone is teasing, so he takes the same tone. "If I don't, who's going to make sure you don't wander into the river? Or get eaten by a bear? Hiking is dangerous, Clarke."

She laughs. "I was more worried about steep inclines, but, sure. Bears too."

"I can't really help you with steep inclines," he admits. "I guess if you get tired I can give you a piggyback ride. But O went pretty low-impact for this."

"First hike with Raven," Clarke supplies. "She's worrying without trying to make it obvious she's worrying. Plus, Monty."

He pauses. "Not you?"

"No. Why?"

"I figured you might be lagging from inexperience, but--"

She laughs. "Yeah, I'm still not at their level yet. The first time I went out hiking with Octavia it nearly killed me."

"But you want to be good at hiking."

"It's just walking!" she says. "It shouldn't be hard."

"So what normally happens?" he asks. "Please don't tell me O just lets you wander off on your own."

"We're on a trail," she says, amused. "I'm not wandering off if I'm on the trail. But no, she doesn't, usually. When it's just me and her and Lincoln it's basically torture. I figured more people would help." She's not looking at him when she smiles, but the softness of the expression makes his stupid heart stutter. "And it did."

"Yeah, O's got her matchmaking to focus on," he says without thinking.

"Her matchmaking?"

"She, uh--thinks Miller and Monty would be cute together. And Raven and Luna, I guess."

The omission is pretty glaring, so he's not surprised she calls him out on it. He just wishes he could read her tone when she says, "And us."

He at least has the Octavia filter to work with. "I keep telling her that it's weird for her to be invested in my love life since I'm her brother, but it didn't work when I was in high school, and it doesn't work now."

"She was invested in your love life when you were in high school?"

"We didn't have cable, so she had to make her own fun. She and her friends knew like five girls in my class, so they'd just torment me asking which one was my girlfriend and when I was getting married. Never have siblings."

"I think I'm safe." She sways a little closer, brushing her shoulder against his in what feels like a deliberate way. "That was a pretty neat dodge. I almost didn't notice."

"I'll do better next time," he says. "You did ask if I was coming today."

She's not looking at him, but she's smiling, and her tone is still amused. It's the start of something, for sure. He can almost taste it. "I just assumed you would the first couple times. You're always at everything. But I'm glad you missed the first one, I got so sweaty."

"Yeah, that sounds awful," he teases, on auto-pilot. She _likes him_. That's absolutely what's happening here.

He's going to have to buy his sister something nice.

"I think being really sweaty always sounds sexier in theory than it is. Or maybe it looks better on other people. I just get red and gross."

"I still nearly came just to see you. You're the most tempting thing about hiking. And I like hiking."

"I could like hiking," Clarke muses. "I like all the component parts of hiking. Walking, nature, fresh air, protein bars." Her pause is definitely deliberate, but then she slides her hand into his. "You."

"I'm a component part of hiking?" he asks, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

"I hope you're going to be, yeah."

"Yeah, me too." He exhales a laugh, surprising himself with the sound. "This is definitely when I ask you out, right? I'm not great at cues."

She bites her lip, grinning. "I was thinking this was when I asked if you wanted to pretend we got lost and go make out in the car. We're already _out_ ," she adds, when he's too shocked to answer. "You don't need to ask. But we can go on a date later if it'll make you feel better."

"Not _better_ ," he says. "I just want to."

She's going to answer, but he's already tugging her in for a kiss. Her mouth is warm and smiling under his, tasting of sweat-salt and lip balm, and it was definitely worth the wait.

"We should definitely go back to the car," she murmurs, tangling her hands in his hair between kisses. "Or they'll come looking for us."

"In a minute," he says, and pulls her closer.

*

"So, you're coming hiking again, right?" Octavia asks the next Friday, sounding smug. "You seemed to have a really good time last week. And Clarke's coming again."

It's an interesting statement, considering Clarke is currently curled into his side and on the record as having _no plans_ this weekend, aside from hanging out with him. They talked about how this one already. He's showing her a park he likes in town, and he's pretty excited about it.

"Yeah?" he asks, mild.

"Yup. Come on, you spent the whole time with her! You could _get lost_ again," she says, with audible air quotes.

O texted to make sure they weren't dead before they got back to the cars, so he and Clarke weren't making out and no one actually knows they're together yet. And it's not like he's not _against_ his sister finding out--he's planning for this to a serious, long-term relationship--but he also kind of wanted to keep it between just him and Clarke, at least until they'd gone on a real date.

After a week, three dates, and two sleepovers, he feels like it's going pretty well. And he does have to mention it to Octavia eventually.

There's no time like the present.

"When did she tell you this?"

"When I asked her, duh. Do you want to send you screenshots again?"

"Kind of, but I can just ask her. O says you're going hiking with her this weekend," he adds, to Clarke. "It's news to me."

She cocks her head at him, curious but not apparently upset that Octavia's finding out about them. "She hasn't mentioned it. But--" She pushes herself off his lap and grabs her phone out of her bag, smiles as she shows him the message from Octavia on the display: _hiking sat??? bell said he'd come_

Really, he can't believe he didn't figure it out sooner. "How long have you been tricking us into going into things saying the other one's going to be there?" he asks.

"Since the first time I did it to you," Octavia says, remorseless. "How long have you been dating Clarke?"

"Since last week."

"I _told you_ hiking was fun! You owe me, Bell."

"I told you, I like hiking." He pauses. "But yeah, I probably owe you."

"So you're coming, right? You guys had such a good time!"

"Yeah, uh, no," he says. "We're busy, O."

"You can have sex any time!"

"Not actually true, and not what we're doing," says Bellamy, dry. "We'll be outside in nature, I promise. Just nature near our apartments."

She huffs. "I don't know why I wanted this to happen. Now I'm never going to see either of you again."

"We promise to come socialize at least once a week," he says. "Seriously, we already have plans for Saturday, it's not like we're never going to go hiking with you again."

"Uh huh," she says. "I definitely believe you."

Clarke settles back into Bellamy's lap, checking Facebook on her phone, and he can't help a goofy smile. "I keep telling you, O, you've got nothing to worry about." He threads his hand in Clarke's hair, gentle and affectionate, and she leans into the touch. "I love hiking."


End file.
